3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018
Ports in Ilwaco, Chinook deal with silt
tive dredge material disposal
options. They will explore
potential sites through the
combined Ilwaco and Chinook
dredge material disposal plan.
The Chinook upland dredge
material disposal site is at
capacity. The plan is to increase
the capacity by managing the
material on site to allow dredg-
ing in early 2019, Glenn said.
The dredge material disposal
site in Ilwaco is nearing capac-
ity, despite years of manag-
ing the material on site. Up to
2,500 single dump truck loads
of material are dredged from
Ilwaco marina each year.
“We estimate in excess of
170,000 cubic yards of dredge
material is currently contained
at our upland dredge material
disposal site in Ilwaco,” Glenn
said. “It would fill over 14,000
single dump trucks.”
It would be “extremely
expensive” to relocate the
existing upland dredge mate-
rial, according to Glenn.
“We would need to identify
sites where it could be hauled
to contingent on adequate
funding,” he said.
Options for in-water dis-
posal will be explored during
the planning process.
“Dredge material would
have to be transported by a
submerged pipeline to a per-
mitted location within one to
two miles of our marinas in
Baker Bay,” Glenn explained.
“A booster pump may also
be needed, adding additional
expenses, along with the chal-
lenge of managing submerged
dredge pipe in the strong tidal
currents we experience at the
mouth of the Columbia River.”
Other alternatives may
emerge during the planning
process. Work on the Chinook
upland disposal site will take
place in the next four to six
months to prepare for dredg-
ing in early 2019. Dredging
in Ilwaco is planned to start in
November.
“The funding we received
from the state is greatly appreci-
ated and we would like to thank
Rep. Brian Blake, Sen. Dean
Takko and Rep. Jim Walsh for
their support,” Glenn said. “A
more comprehensive approach
is needed and this funding will
buy us time to keep the priority
areas maintained.”
Agencies get
crucial funding
By LUKE WHITTAKER
Chinook Observer
ONG BEACH, Wash. —
Silt continues plaguing
two local ports, threaten-
ing access and limiting moor-
age. Port Manager Guy Glenn
Jr. is hopeful a remedy to the
mucky situation will result
from recent funding in the
state’s supplemental budget.
In March, Washington state
legislators finalized Senate
Bill 6095, including $450,000
to help the ports of Ilwaco and
Chinook with marina mainte-
nance dredging. Chinook and
Ilwaco will receive $275,000
and $175,000. Lawmak-
ers also provided $77,000 to
explore options for sediment
disposal, a crucial need as dis-
posal sites have reached or are
near capacity.
“Current state funding
should carry us through two to
three years in Chinook while
we work on a comprehensive
approach for both marinas,
including dredge material dis-
posal alternatives,” Glenn said.
Since 2016, the ports of Ilwaco
and Chinook have operated
under an interlocal agreement.
L
Photos by Luke Whittaker/Chinook Observer
‘The Port of Chinook went several years without significant maintenance dredging leading to a buildup of material in
the marina,’ Port Manager Guy Glenn Jr. said.
Port of Chinook
Port of Ilwaco
Please
15,000 and 30,000 cubic yards
of material are removed annu-
ally from the marina from
November through Febru-
ary, dates designated to avoid
potential impacts with migrat-
ing salmon. The permitted
depths in the Ilwaco marina
range from 8 to 16 feet.
“The current conditions
require us to perform annual
maintenance dredging in our
priority areas in Ilwaco,”
Glenn said. “We continue to
focus our efforts on maintain-
ing access for commercial
fishing vessels and maintain-
ing access to our fuel docks
and to our haul-out facility
(Ilwaco boatyard).”
Commercial fishing vessels
generally have a deeper draft
in comparison with most rec-
reational vessels, and count for
more when it comes to keeping
the port’s access open to the
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Parts of the Port of Chinook mooring basin are
inaccessible at low tide due to silt buildup.
deeper waters of the Columbia
River and Pacific Ocean.
“Commercial seafood ton-
nage and off-ship value landed
at our ports is essential when
advocating for federal funds
to maintain our entrance chan-
nels connecting our marinas to
the Columbia River and Pacific
Ocean,” Glenn said. “Commer-
cial seafood tonnage and the
corresponding off-ship value
are determining factors when
advocating for federal funding
to perform maintenance dredg-
ing in the Ilwaco and Chinook
entrance channels.”
Addressing failing pile
dikes — which are essentially
walls to direct sediment away
from navigation channels —
along the outer portion of the
Ilwaco entrance channel is also
an ongoing concern for Glenn.
“A long-term investment in
the pile dikes along the Ilwaco
channel should ultimately
increase reliability for chan-
nel users and decrease annual
maintenance dredging costs
with less pressure to dredge
on an annual basis,” he said.
“The pile dikes were originally
designed to utilize the water
current to scour the bottom and
prevent the channel from silt-
ing in. These structures were
constructed in the late 1930s
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Disposal sites
Glenn said it is critical
for both ports to find alterna-
ag e S
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See more on
Petfi nder.com
and have not been maintained.
They are separating from land
and deteriorating leading to
much higher rates of siltation
in the channel.”
e
al
The Port of Ilwaco started a
maintenance dredging program
nearly 20 years ago. Between
Silt continues to plague the Port of Chinook.
Ru
During low tide at the Port
of Chinook, boats crowd the
center fingers of the marina as
shallower docks on the fringes
remain vacant.
“The depth conditions in
Chinook have made some areas
inaccessible in the marina,”
Glenn said. “We have areas in
the marina where the docks sit
in the mud at low tide.”
The Port of Chinook marina
is federally permitted to minus
10 feet in the commercial
dock area and minus 8 feet in
the recreational dock areas.
In February 2017, depths var-
ied throughout the marina —
ranging from 3.5 feet to 9 feet,
and have worsened in some
areas since.
“Silt continues to build up
in the marina and we do our
best to accommodate the needs
of our moorage customers,”
Glenn said. Compromises
have already been made with
some slips being restricted to
shallow draft vessels only.
The rate of accumulation is
unclear.
“A formal study has not
been performed to determine
the rate of siltation in our mari-
nas,” Glenn said. “Chinook
went several years without sig-
nificant maintenance dredging
leading to the buildup of mate-
rial in their marina.”
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